West Ham United v Blackburn Rovers
Carabao Cup third round, London Stadium, Wednesday 9 November 2022, 7.45pm GMT
West Ham United kick-off their Carabao Cup challenge with a third-round tie against Blackburn Rovers at London Stadium on Wednesday evening.
David Moyes' side enter at the round of 32 after being given a bye due to their involvement in European competition. The Hammers have, of course, reached the UEFA Europa Conference League round of 16 after winning an historic six ties out of six in the group stage.
The Irons are two-time EFL Cup finalists - losing to West Bromwich Albion in 1966 and Liverpool in 1981 - and reached the quarter-finals last season, overcoming both Manchester clubs before being edged out at Tottenham Hotspur.
Rovers, who are going strong in second place in the EFL Championship this season as they seek promotion to the Premier League under new head coach Jon Dahl Tomasson, lifted the trophy in 2002, when the Lancashire side defeated Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 in the final at the Millennium Stadium.
Tickets...
Tickets for Wednesday's tie start from just £10 for Adults and £1 for Juniors!
Head to eticketing.co.uk/whufc to buy now, call 0333 030 1966 or visit in person at the London Stadium Ticket Office.
Full pricing details can be found by clicking here.
Carabao Cup rules...
Wednesday's Carabao Cup tie will be settled on the night at London Stadium.
In the event that the scores remain level after 90 minutes, the match will go straight to penalties and there will be no extra-time played.
Before that, each manager can name nine substitutes, of whom five can be used. Each club is permitted a maximum of three opportunities to make substitutions, excluding half-time.
Up to two concussion substitutes and/or two additional substitutes (additional substitutes available if the opposition make a concussion substitute) are permitted in accordance with the IFAB Protocol.
Use of either a concussion substitute or additional substitute shall not count towards the five substitutions permitted or towards the number of opportunities permitted to make a substitution.
How to Follow...
Wednesday's tie will NOT be broadcast live in the UK.
You can follow the action via our live blog on whufc.com and our app and across our social media channels. We will also have highlights and exclusive reaction for you after the final whistle.
Travel...
Wednesday's train strikes have been called-off by the RMT trade union, meaning regular rail, bus and London Underground services should run to timetable.
Supporters should visit the National Rail website to plan their journey if you are planning to travel on the rail network.
Supporters are advised to check their journeys before travel, with resources such as TfL's Journey Planner or the TfL Go app helping to plan your journey.
Official Programme...
West Ham United's 116-page Official Programme for Wednesday's Carabao Cup third-round tie with Blackburn Rovers is on sale now.
With London Stadium set for another memorable cup night under the lights, we have produced a bumper issue crammed full of exclusive interviews and exciting content for fans of all ages, complete with a double-sided A3 poster.
The Irons' Official Programme is available to order online now for just £4, plus £1.49 postage and packaging*.
Wednesday's issue features interviews with Germany international Thilo Kehrer, former Blackburn midfielder and current assistant coach Billy McKinlay, and columns penned by manager David Moyes and captain Declan Rice.
Former Hammers and Rovers defender Tony Gale flicks through his 'West Ham Scrapbook', while we find out what Mark Noble's former Academy teammate Liam Parrington is doing in 'Where Are They Now?'.
We also have the latest news and views from the Academy of Football and Women's team, and West Ham United Foundation, plus an in-depth guide to our EFL Championship visitors from Lancashire.
Copies will be sent via first-class post. Full-season subscriptions are also available, including all Premier League, FA Cup and EFL Cup home issues, from just £119, from the Club's official West Ham Programmes shop.
You can order your copy for just £4 each, plus £1.49 postage and packaging*, by clicking here now.
Team News...
David Moyes is set to name a strong squad for Wednesday's tie, with victory taking West Ham United through to the round of 16 and potentially only three further victories from a place in the final at Wembley next February.
The only injury doubt is Maxwel Cornet, who has been sidelined in recent weeks with a calf problem.
Blackburn Rovers boss Jon Dahl Tomasson has no reported injury concerns, but may have one eye on this weekend's EFL Championship derby with fellow high-fliers Burnley.
The Dane revealed he will rotate his squad in his pre-match press conference.
Opposition...
May 2022 marked ten years since Blackburn Rovers were relegated from the Premier League.
One of just seven clubs to lift the trophy since the competition was introduced 30 years ago, Rovers have spent the past decade trying to get back to the top-flight.
And, slowly but surely, they are working their way towards doing it.
But first, let’s start with a bit of history, because Blackburn’s dates back far longer than the Premier League’s.
When the Football League was originally formed in 1888, it was dominated by northern clubs, with Blackburn one of six of the 12 founder members to hail from what was then the county of Lancashire – Accrington, Bolton Wanderers, Burnley, Everton and inaugural champions Preston North End were the other five.
Known throughout the world for its textile mills and weavers, Blackburn’s football team was a source of pride for a town whose population had boomed to 130,000. Rovers had already won the FA Cup three times before the Football League’s formation, and two more were added in 1890 and 1891.
Rovers remained a top-flight club into the new century and were crowned champions of England twice in the space of three seasons immediately before the First World War.
A sixth FA Cup made its way to Ewood Park in 1928 but, with the professional game spreading to all parts of the country, Blackburn were never likely to maintain the relative dominance they had enjoyed in the earliest years of the club’s existence.
For decades, Blackburn moved up and down the leagues, falling into the third tier for the first time in 1971, before working their way back up to the top division via the Play-Offs for the inaugural Premier League season, 1992/93.
Managed by Liverpool and Scotland legend Kenny Dalglish, Rovers’ average home attendances doubled in the space of four seasons, from 13,250 in 1991/92 to 27,714 in 1995/96.
While Dalglish’s management undoubtedly played a huge part in Blackburn’s rise, it was based on the financial backing of Jack Walker, the local businessman and Rovers fan who had amassed a fortune in the steel industry, and ploughed tens of millions of pounds of it into his local club.
Walker’s backing saw Ewood Park reconstructed into a smart all-seater stadium, while new training and Academy facilities were built – with the aim of Blackburn eclipsing Manchester United as the country’s leading club.
He also broke the British transfer record twice, signing Alan Shearer from Southampton for £3.3 million in 1992 and Chris Sutton from Norwich City for £5 million in 1994.
With a number of other high-profile signings playing behind them, the strikers forged a potent partnership, earning the nickname ‘SAS’, and scored 49 goals between them to lead Rovers to the Premier League title in 1994/95 – pipping Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United into second place.
Rovers played in the UEFA Champions League, but their success did not sustain and, in 1999, they were relegated. Sadly, a year later, Walker died, aged 71.
Blackburn returned to the Premier League in 2001, won the League Cup in 2002, and stayed in the top-flight for eleven years, finishing sixth twice, but never got close to replicating their stunning success of 1994/95.
The Walker family sold the club to Indian poultry conglomerate Venkys in 2010. Blackburn were relegated in 2012, then dropped into League One for a season in 2017/18. A succession of mid-table Championship finishes have followed, but Rovers came eighth last season and, under former Denmark international Jon Dahl Tomasson, have made a strong start to the current campaign.
Blackburn could be weaving their way back to where it all began.
Previous Meetings...
West Ham United and Blackburn Rovers have met just once previously in the EFL Cup competition.
Davor Šuker and Paolo Di Canio scored second-half goals as the Hammers scored a 2-0 victory over Rovers at the Boleyn Ground on 31 October 2000.
The Irons' team also featured Rio Ferdinand, Frank Lampard, Joe Cole, Frédéric Kanouté, and Trevor Sinclair, along with future coaches Stuart Pearce and Steve Potts, while Graeme Souness's Blackburn side included future West Ham player Christian Dailly.
Match Officials...
Referee: Thomas Bramall
Assistants: Scott Ledger & Sam Lewis
Fourth official: Keith Hill
Wednesday's referee Thomas Bramall has never taken charge of a West Ham first-team fixture previously, but has officiated three Hammers U21s matches in seasons gone by, two at Stoke City and one at Manchester United.
He has refereed three Premier League matches this season, along with six in the EFL Championship and two in the previous rounds of the Carabao Cup.
